World's Oldest Bedding Discovered in Cave

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The oldest known bedding — sleeping mats made of
mosquito-repellant evergreens that are about 77,000 years old —
has been discovered in a South African cave.

This use of
medicinal plants, along with other artifacts at the cave,
helps reveal how creative these early peoples were, researchers
said.

An international team of archaeologists discovered the stack of
ancient beds at Sibudu, a cave in a sandstone cliff in South
Africa. They consist of compacted stems and leaves of sedges,
rushes and grasses stacked in at least 15 layers within a chunk
of sediment 10 feet (3 meters) thick.

"The inhabitants would have collected the sedges and rushes from
along the uThongathi River, located directly below the site, and
laid the plants on the floor of the shelter,"said researcher Lyn
Wadley, an archaeologist at the University of the Witwatersrand
in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The oldest mats the scientists discovered are approximately
50,000 years older than other known examples of plant bedding.
All told, these layers reveal mat-making over a period of about
40,000 years.

"The preservation of material at Sibudu is really exceptional,"
said researcher Christopher Miller, a geoarchaeologist at the
University of Tübingen in Germany. [ See
Photos of the Ancient Beds ]

Many of the plant remains are species of Cryptocarya,
evergreen plants that are used extensively in
traditional medicines. The beds appeared to be mostly
composed of river wild-quince (Cryptocarya woodii),
whose crushed leaves emit insect-repelling scents.

"The selection of these leaves for the construction of bedding
suggests that the early inhabitants of Sibudu had an intimate
knowledge of the plants surrounding the shelter, and were aware
of their medicinal uses," Wadley said. "Herbal medicines would
have provided advantages for human health, and the use of
insect-repelling plants adds a new dimension to our understanding
of behavior 77,000 years ago."

Microscopic analysis of the bedding suggested the inhabitants
repeatedly refurbished the mats. Starting about 73,000 years ago,
the site's inhabitants apparently also burned the bedding
regularly, "possibly as a way to remove pests," Miller said.
"This would have prepared the site for future occupation and
represents a novel
use of fire for the maintenance of an occupation site."

These mats were used for more than just slumber. "The bedding was
not just used for sleeping, but would have provided a comfortable
surface for living and working," Wadley said.

Beginning about 58,000 years ago, the layers of bedding at the
site became more densely packed, and the number of hearths and
ash dumps rose dramatically as well. The archaeologists believe
this is evidence of a growing population, perhaps corresponding
with other population changes within Africa at the time. By
approximately 50,000 years ago,
modern humans began expanding out of Africa, eventually
replacing now-extinct forms of humans in Eurasia, including the
Neanderthals.

The age of the oldest mats are roughly contemporaneous with other
South African evidence of
modern human behavior, such as the use of perforated shell
beads, sharpened bone points likely used for hunting, bow and
arrow technology, the use of snares and traps and the production
of glue for attaching handles onto stone tools.

"These discoveries show the creativity and diversity of behavior
that these early humans practiced," Miller told LiveScience.

Wadley, Miller and their colleagues detailed their findings in
the Dec. 9 issue of the journal Science.